Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/565622
EquipmentWorld.com | September 2015 55 road science | by Tom Kuennen Photo: Tom Kuennen OPTIMIZING PAVEMENT LEVELS OF SERVICE OPTIMIZING PAVEMENT LEVELS OF SERVICE A pavement's level of service is a measure that combines a pavement's design cri- teria – such as freeway, primary arterial, collector and local street or road – with traffi c conditions such as speed, travel time, freedom to maneuver, user comfort and convenience, traffi c interruptions and safety. As pavement performance and durability impacts a highway's level of service (LOS), road contractors are in a position where they can favorably infl uence a highway's LOS today and tomorrow via best-practice construction tech- niques, such as providing exceptional smooth- ness for concrete or asphalt pavements. That exceptional smoothness often is rewarded by bonuses is just one more reason to consider the effect of future LOS on road construction. Frequently, contractors may enhance fu- ture LOS via value engineering. After examin- ing the plans, jobsite and materials, the right team – contractor, civil engineer, soils engineer and equipment manager – may employ value engineering to revise original specs or plans for a product equal to, or better than, the original design in terms of service and durability, often at a substantial reduction in costs. Or the contractor may demonstrate how a marginal increase in initial cost can result in a signifi cantly better-performing pavement with Smoothness is a key criteria in measuring a pavement's level of service.